The Promise
by ChaosJenny
Summary: AU 2xH Hilde makes friend with a princess and promises her to visit her again, but the only way to do this is that she has to pretend to be a knight.
1. Prologue

Hey there.  
  
This is my first DuoxHilde fic and I hope you like it.  
  
I´m sorry for all mistakes. If you find some, please tell me so I can fix it. Anyway, please send me a review. I´d like to know what you think of it. Okay have fun!  
  
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing doesn´t belong to me.  
  
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The promise  
  
by ChaosJenny  
  
Prologue  
  
A seven year old little girl sat on her big, white bed and sobbed hard. "But mommy, why?" She ask between two heavily sobs. Her aquamarine eyes were full of tears.  
  
A woman sitting across of her on a chair took the girl in a soft embrace and rocked her back and forth. "Oh Angel. Dear. You know that is impossible." She tried to comfort her. Gently she wiped the tears out of her daughter´s eyes and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Relena, I know you feel very lonely as a princess. But I had promised you I would make sure that you will get company and I have. You just have to be a litte more patient. You´re companion is on her way to you." The lovely voice of her mother seemed to calm her a bit.  
  
"But I´m the princess. Why can´t I just go out and play with the children outside of the castle?" The blond haired girl wasn´t satifieded with what the woman had told her.  
  
Nancy Peacecraft sighed and shook her head. Unlike Relena she hadn´t long, blond hair. Hers was curly, shoulder-length and red. In the whole country she was known as the flaming red Queen Nancy Peacecraft because of her hair. The hair which was responsible for her stubborn character as they said. Even if her daughter hadn´t inherited it from her, Relena had her eyes and Nancy was aware that not the hair but the clear aquamarine eyes were carrying her stubbornness in themselves. "Honey, that´s exactly the point." She said quiet stroking Relena´s head. "The place outside of the castle is not safe for a girl, especially for a princess. In the woods there are robbers and thieves, who would hurt or even kill you." Looking in the eyes of the girl, the Queen decided to do the only thing she could do to be sure that Relena wouldn´t leave the castle. "Promise me that you´ll not go outside of the castle, Relena. Promise me."   
  
Relena looked in the eyes of her mother. They seemed to beg for promising. The little princess swallowed up a sob. It wasn´t fair what her mother was doing now. If she made this promise, she would have to keep it. It was her duty as a princess. Sobbing again, she turned her gaze to her window and looked at it as if she would never again be able to watch out of it. Slowly she nodded her head and glanced in the Queen´s eyes. "All right. I promise." Her voice was almost a whisper. Relief shone in Nancy´s eyes, but at the same time they were apologetic like trying to say 'I´m so sorry, my darling. But you´ve to belief me. It´s for your own good.'  
  
Relena threw herself in her mother´s arms and cried. The red-headed woman closed her arms around the girl and rested her chin on her tiny shoulder. "I´m sorry," she whispered in her ear and closed her eyes. 'Some day, you´ll understand this, Relena. Some day.'   
  
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"Hey! You little brat! Stop! If I get hold of you, you get a sound thrashing! This time you won´t give me the slip!" The rageing voice echoed through the whole forest as it´s owner who was a fruit seller ran as fast as he could after the so called brat.  
  
The brat was a dark-blue eyed girl by the age of seven fleeding between the trees hoping her pursuer would loose sight of her. Her short deep blue hair flew in all directions, as the wind blew through it and she speeded up. She wore a pair of brown trousers and a grass-green top with long sleeves. Bound on her waist was a bag full of fruits which a few minutes ago still happened to belong to the angered man dogging on her footsteps.  
  
The man´s brown eyes never left her. It wasn´t the first time she had stolen some of his fruits. As it happened the first time, he had just shouted after her; supposing her to be a boy, he spat a few curses and threatened her to beat her black and blue, if he ever get hold of her, but had already forgotten the incident in the same night. It was a everyday thing to be stolen from somebody. After all he got used to it.   
  
Well, that wasn´t also the reason he was after her. No. He had other reasons. He didn´t go after every theft. If he did he could immediately become a sheriff. Nevertheless this little rat was an exception because she didn´t only rob him once, but also dared to rob him in the last few months almost every week. And in his opinion she had definely crossed the line with that.   
  
Everytime she stole some fruits he wanted but wasn´t able to run after her. It was impossible to let your stall alone if you were a fruit seller in a small village near a forest known to be home for a gang of bandits. So he made a plan and asked a friend of himself to help him selling the fruits. And as if he had knew it, she was coming right the day he had decided to put his plan into action.  
  
It was quite easy. He told his friend to hide until he would call him. Then, exactly the moment the girl had taken the fruits he called for his friend and started to run after her. And so he got here trying to get this limb of satan.  
  
He had to admit she was fast, very fast, but he was determined to catch her to bring her to the near castle where she should be punished for her theft. The king had announced that they would pay for every bandit of the forest who would be brought to the castle. And he was sure this blue-haired brat was one of them.  
  
'Crap. Won´t this guy run out of steam?' The girl, by name Hilde Schbeiker thought. She was running through this wood since fifteen minutes and the man hadn´t lost sight of her. Not only that he had trapped her, no he also had to be one of the few people who could keep up with her.   
  
Hilde belonged to the feared bandits of this forest being known to be very fast, dexterous and clever. No one could keep up with them. At least that was what she thought just fifteen minutes ago when this really angered fruit seller wasn´t after her. She shook her head. It wasn´t supposed to be this way. She had to get rid of him, namely fast. That is, the blue-eyed bandit was about to end in a dead end. Behind the last bushes she was running to was a wall. The wall of the castle of this kingdom to be exact. The place he would certainly like to take her.  
  
Hilde reached the wall and stopped. Frantically she looked for a possibility to escape but found none.'Well, That seems to be the game over.' She turned around. Leaning her back against the wall she stared in the direction she came from waiting for the man to arrive. If she already had to be caught, she wouldn´t do it without fighting.  
  
The sounds of the man´s footsteps became louder. It was only a matter of seconds before he would be here. Hilde stiffened by this thought and pushed herself against the wall. Her breath became short and panic rose in her. 'He was able to run after me without becoming slower. That means he really has to be strong and so I won´t have a change to beat him. Why the hell did I have to choose this well trained guy to rob. Couldn´t such people be marked? It would be much easier to recognize who I can rob and who n-'  
  
KLONG!  
  
'Klong?' The sound interrupted her train of thought. She turned to the wall to see what the source of the odd sound was. At the spot she had pressed her back at was a hole now. Not very big, but big enough for her to creep through. And so she did relieved to don´t have to face the fruit seller.  
  
'That was lucky!' She thought while she took the stone which had fallen out of the wall. It was damned heavy and she needed all her strength to put it back to it´s original place, but she had to do it. She didn´t want her pursuer to know where she was.  
  
When the stone was where it should be, she clapped her hands and let her gaze wander across the court. Hilde had never expected that it would be so large. There wasn´t only the castle, but also space for a whole village. Even a market was here. Although the people were dressed more noble than villagers.  
  
It was amazing. The little bandit was astonished at the sight. Without a second thought she started to investigate the court.  
  
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Rashid turned around in search for the blue-haired bandit. The fruit seller had exactly seen how she ran to this spot right behind the bushes. But the spot was empty. "Where the hell is she?" He asked himself. In front of him was a castle-wall, too high to be climbed over. And all around there were bushes and trees. It was the perfect trap. So she had to be here, but she wasn´t.  
  
The man with the brown hair and the beard scratched his head. What did happen? It was just as if it made 'POOF' and she had vanished. After all it was an impossibility to get away from a place like this without being seen. "How on earth did she do it?" He shouted loud.   
  
Rashid stared at the wall. Could it possible be that she somehow was able to slip into the castle? He shook his head. "Great Rashid. You just have been tricked by a little brat." 'A damned fast little brat,' he added in his thoughts. He had to admit the last time he had run this fast was long ago. And that astonished him at the girl. After all he belonged to one of the fastest people.   
  
"If everyone of those bandits are in such a good condition, the king will have big problems catching them." He said. "His soldiers and guards are good but not that good. I wouldn´t have a doubt that the girl could cope with them. And she only is a little girl."  
  
This bad trained soldiers were a problem on its own. "I should tell and show them what it means to be a soldier for the king." He stopped. What had he just said? He should tell and show them? "That´s it." He shouted. Since this girl had started to rob him regularly he wanted nothing more than to fill another job. A job where he could take care of the robbery. For example as the training captain of the king´s army.   
  
"I´m becoming the training captain and catch the bandits." When he would train the soldiers they would get the thieves in no time. He straightened his back and a smile found its way on his face. That was strictly the job he was looking for. "Rashid you´re a genius," he complimented himself with a laugh.  
  
Being in a good temper he started to walk away from this place back to the village unware of the figure who sat above him on a branch of a tree and had watched the whole thing.  
  
"And again she got herself in trouble." The figure said matter-of-factly. The onyx colored eyes watched Rashid disappearing into the woods. "Sometimes I asking myself how she is able to find a way out of her troubles everytime. It borders already on the miraculous."  
  
The person on the tree was a boy with black hair which was plaited into a small pigtail. He was completely dressed in green, so he wouldn´t be recognized in the tree. Slowly, he turned his head and gazed at the point where Hilde had scrambled through. People didn´t call her a lucky devil for nothing, the boy knew that for sure.  
  
Years ago he had made a promise to somebody to protect this girl no matter what would happen. And he did it. Wufei Chang wasn´t a boy who departed from his word, even if he was just seven. Everytime she left the hideout of the bandits to go on her imagined adventures he was near her to look out for her. Well, she didn´t know that he was near, she wouldn´t accept a minder. But that wasn´t the point.  
  
Hilde was a real trouble maker and Wufei was always anew impressed how she solved even the most impossible problems without help. 'She doesn´t really need a minder.'   
  
That was an awareness that crossed his mind since a few weeks now. He actually never had to do something to protect her, and when she knew how to take care of herself.   
  
Maybe he shouldn´t guard her by watching her, she wasn´t in danger at any time. Nevertheless there was another thing that might become real dangerous now, and not only for her...  
  
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With her face buried in her arms, Relena Peacecraft lie stomach-turned on her bed and cried. Since her mother had left her room she neither stopped crying nor did she move an inch. Being a princess was one of the badest things at all. Why did the Queen have to demand from her to make this cruel promise? Why did she have to sacrifice her freedom to be save?  
  
The little princess wished for nothing else than a friend to play. But was she able to make friends? No, because she wasn´t allowed to leave the castle grounds. Adults could be so unkind.  
  
Her tear stained eyes blurred her vision as she lifted her head to look out of the window. The velvet blue sky and the grass-green trees of the Sanc-Kingdom silenced her crying for a moment. But watching, how a bird flew through the sky, chirping happily she restarted the weeping. 'I´m never going to be so free as this bird. Thanks to this promise.'   
  
The girl with the long, blond hair droped her face back in her arms and let her sobs echoing through her big chamber.  
  
"Don´t you run out of tears anytime?"  
  
The question from the unknown voice startled her. Stopping her sobbing, she twirled around in her bed to look at the owner of the voice. A boy, probably not older than herself stood next to her door and stared at her with clear blue eyes.  
  
Relena´s own aquamarine eyes widened. Who was this boy and what was he making in her chamber? Moreover how did he got into her chambers unnoticed by the guards. "What?"   
  
"Well," he started to explain while taking an apple from a bowl on her table. "I mean, when I would have cried so much like you, I would already have run dry." biting in the apple he continued. "What happened, that you cry so much?"  
  
The princess still rigid with shock about the strange visitor watched as he looked around in the room and walked to her bed. When she didn´t answer him, he turned his head to her with an interrogative gaze.  
  
She averted her eyes and lowered her head. "My mommy made me promise to not leave the castle grounds." She said in a quiet voice. "So I´m not able to make friends with other children."  
  
"I see." The boy nodded his head. "Why aren´t you allowed to leave?" He asked.  
  
"Because I´m the princess and because of the bandits."  
  
"The bandits?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I´m a bandit." He revealed to her.  
  
"What?!" Relena´s head shot up. He was a bandit? Fear began to raise in her. He didn´t look like one, though her parents and teachers often told her that bad people didn´t look evil. If he was a thief, what did he want from her? Was he here to hurt her? Frightened, she slid to the wall her bed stood against.  
  
"Are you afraid of me?" His eyes fixed her tremulous body. "I won´t do you anything." The boy assured Relena.  
  
"Mommy said, you would hurt and kill me." Her voice sounded scared.  
  
Looking at her, he shook his head. "I´ve never hurt or killed somebody. Robbed, yes, but such things, no." He took a seat on the chair next to her bed.  
  
The blond-haired girl crawled to where he sat. In his blue orbs showed nothing that he meant any harm. "What´s you´re name?" She finally asked him as a proof of believing him.  
  
A smile appeared on his face. "My name is Hilde. Hilde Schbeiker."  
  
Relena regarded him. "But isn´t Hilde a name for a girl?"  
  
The smile on Hilde´s face turned into a grin. "You think I´m a boy, don´t you?" The princess nodded.  
  
The assumed boy sighed. "Most of the people think I´m a boy when they see me for the first time, but I´m a girl."  
  
"Really? You look like a boy, a good looking boy." The blond girl giggled at her. "Anyway, I´m Relena Peacecraft, princess of the Sanc-Kingdom," she introduced herself formal.  
  
"Princess," standing up, Hilde kneeled down and spoke in a knightly manner. "It´s a pleasure to meet you. Would you do me the favour of being my maid-of-honour." A mischievous glint was in her eyes. She loved to play a knight.  
  
"Of course, I would." Relena answered. Both girls started giggling.  
  
For the first time in her life the little princess had someone she could play with. "Do you want to become my friend?"  
  
Hilde smiled at her. "I´d love to."  
  
Happy about that, she started to question the bandit. "How did you get into the castle?"  
  
"Oh, that was easy." She told her. "There was a hole in the castle-wall."  
  
"A hole?!"  
  
Nodding, the blue-haired girl took another bite from the apple she still hold in her hand. "Yeah. Not big, but for me it fits. I can show you where it is." Hopping from her chair, she took Relena´s hand and dragged her to the window. "See. It is there, where the guards are standing and..." Hilde broke off her sentence to survey the scene at the place with the hole. Three guards stood at the wall and seemed to talk about the visible hole. "Oh no." She gasped. "They´ve found it. I need to abscond before they close it forever."  
  
Fast she started to move to the door but was stopped in her tracks by two hands clenching on her arm. "Will you visit me again?" The aquamarine eyes of Relena showed the fear of not seeing Hilde again.  
  
The blue-eyed bandit thought for a moment. "Is there another way to get into the castle?" She enquired.  
  
Relena shook her head. "Unfortunately not. The only people who come into the castle are the knights."  
  
'The knights?' An idea crossed her mind. "Relena, I promise you I´ll come back. But not untill a few years. I have something in mind which needs time. So please, don´t forget me, OK?"  
  
The princess nodded. "Allright. I´ll wait. Still you have to come back, no matter how long it will take."  
  
"Promised." Hilde said, hugging her newfound friend. And with that she hurried away.  
  
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"How long, do you think, will we still have to live like this?" Une Krushenada stood with her long, brown hair next to a hearth with a boiling pot. Her brown eyes glanced at her husband Treize who sat at the table of their small hut.   
  
"I don´t know, my love." He replied in a calmly voice, his gold-blond haired head resting on his hands of his on the table propped elbows. "All I can say is that we must never give up." The crystal-blue eyes of him met hers. Seriousness were seen in them. "Too much has happened to let it go just like that. We´ve vowed to do this. It´s our duty and as long as she isn´t old enough we have to live this way."  
  
Une had to agree to what he had said. "However, whilst I´m with you I don´t care what we do." She told him smiling.  
  
"So do I." Treize said, watching her fondly. The love of his life was a tall, slender woman. She was beautiful and strong. He remembered a time when she had her long hair in two braids pined on the head. A time when her and himself lived another life. A time when they both thought nothing would ever change but only god knew how wrong they had been. The fateful day which changed their lifes forever still bore down on their souls and would further on.  
  
Suddenly the door snapped open and a blue-haired little girl ran into the hut. "Uncle Treize. Aunt Une. You won´t believe me what has happened to me." She shouted happily. To Treize and Une it was quite normal that Hilde was happy. Whenever she was outside roaming the woods there was something making her happy and the first thing she would do after such incidents was telling it to her foster parents.  
  
So the married couple looked expectantly at her. They knew she was going to tell them right now. "What is it what has happened to you, sweetheart?" It was kind of a ritual that first one of them had to ask her this question.  
  
Her grin spoke volumes. "I´ve been in the castle."  
  
Treize raised his brows. "In the castle? The Sanc-Castle?" That was really a surprise. It was well-known that it was almost impossible to get into the castle.  
  
"Yep." Being all smiles the little bandit was thrilled about her break-in.  
  
"How?"   
  
"I´ve found a hole in the wall," she explained. "But it has already been closed. Anyway," the grin on her face became wider. "Guess who I met there."   
  
"We don´t know, Honey. Who?" Une questioned her.  
  
"The princess. I´ve made friends with her."  
  
"The princess? You´ve made friends with the princess?" Une couldn´t believe what she heard.  
  
The girl nodded fiercely. "She´s really nice. Just a bit lonely, because she can´t make friends with others. Nevertheless I´ve already promised her to visit her again."  
  
Treize and Une were stunned. That wasn´t what they have expected to hear. Their foster child broke-in into a castle and made friends with its princess. What should one do about it. Treize obviously knew what to do. He burst out laughing. "Lucky Devil. This name does justice to you, Hilde." Only this blue-haired girl could do such a thing without being caught. It was a gift.  
  
When his laughter has died down the blond man gazed at her. "Let me ask you a question. How will you get into the castle?"  
  
"I´ve thought of that, too. Relena has told me that only knights are allowed into the castle. And," her scrutiny met him. "You know how to fight with a sword and how to handle bow and arrows, right?"  
  
"Yes." He got a clue where this was leading to.  
  
"So you could teach me it and then, in a few years, I can go to the kingdom as a knight."  
  
Both her foster parents stared spechless at her. Hilde was famous for her insane ideas and it wasn´t the first time that they had heard such a plan but this was crazy. Une was the first, who found again her voice. "Honey, only boys are able to become a knight."   
  
"But I´m looking like a boy. Even Relena thought I was a boy at first." She said. "I just pretend I´m a real boy. Asid from that I´ve given her my word to come back. She´ll wait on it. Please. Aunt Une, uncle Treize."  
  
Treize sighed. He already suspected it as she had this penetrating glance. "Are you sure you want this?" If he had been her real father, he would have said no to her idea. Though considering their situation, maybe this would help to solve their problems. "What you´re trying to do won´t be easy. If I train you, I´ll give you a run for your money. You can be sure of it."   
  
"Yes, I know. But I´m sure about this. I´ll do it." Hilde Schbeiker was never in her live that serious about something as she was now.  
  
"Allright." Treize Krushenada nodded his head. "I´ll make a knight of you."  
  
"Really?" Hilde´s eyes began to sparkle. "Oh thank you uncle Treize. Thanks." Cheerful she squeezed him. "I need to tell Wufei that." Saying this she went outside in search for the black-haired boy.  
  
"I don´t think Wufei will be happy about her plan. The imagine of a female knight won´t appeal him." Treize mentioned staring after her.  
  
"Indeed. But you know the two. They love arguing with each other." Une answered him. She seasoned the food she had cook. "Treize." The woman stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "Why did you give her permission to become a knight?"  
  
Her husband frowned. "I think it´s the safest way to get her into the castle and we have to get her into it anyway. So why not as a knight?" That was true. They both were aware of what was going on and what they had to do. Hilde´s role was important even if she didn´t know a thing about that all.  
  
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Hours ago it had been nightfall and everyone in the hideout slept except Wufei. The chinese little boy stood in a hut next to Hilde´s bed and watched her sleeping figure. "I´m sorry." He whispered. "I know I´ve promised to always guard you and I hope you don´t think I would broke my word because I´m leaving you now. It´s just...to keep my promise I need to go away." He stopped to see her squirming. Carefully he lie his hand on her to reassure her sleep. He didn´t want her to wake up. "We´re going to see each other again some day." Even as a whisper, his voice cracked. He had never thought that leaving this girl would be so hard for him. "Goodbye." He placed a kiss on his friend´s forehead and left the hut. Making his way to his new destination which only he knew...  
  
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Well, so much for the prologue. Don´t forget the review.  
  
See you  
  
ChaosJenny 


	2. She didnt know what she is getting into

Hello again. I`m back. After 5 month of waiting.  
  
Thanks for the reviews.   
  
I know Wufei is emotional, but there is a reason why. But I`m not going to tell you what this reason is, yet.  
  
To the mistakes, wording and grammar. Well, I`m trying my best, really. The problem is I`m from Germany and I`m learning English since almost 9 years and the mistakes won`t leave me. (I could cry)  
  
Enough of that. Enjoy the first chapter.  
  
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The promise  
  
byChoasJenny  
  
Chapter One: (S)he didn`t know what (s)he is getting into...  
  
The castle of Sanc was one of the safest ever. Not only since the day Rashid Kurama appeared at its gate ten years ago, but even before King Anton Peacecraft became the ruler of Sanc. None-the-less Rashid had some bearing on the kingdom. It could have been yesterday when he showed up and claimed to be the perfect training captain for Sanc. Well, if it hadn`t been for the king who came to the gate the moment Rashid submitted his proposal to the guards he wouldn`t have gotten into the castle.  
  
But Anton Peacecraft seemed intrigued by what the stranger had in mind and let him fight against one of his best soldiers. The tall man with the broad shoulders, the brown hair and beard took the opportunity and proved within minutes that he was capable of what he had claimed. So that king Peacecraft let him take up the job as the training captain. Of course not instantly. First he just took the man into the castle to get to know him better, but when he found out that Rashid had been one of the elite soldiers of the famous Kingdom of Mibury Anton had no doubts that he had gotten the best trainig captain he could have.  
  
He was practically the best thing happening to Sanc and the hardest, at least for its soldiers, guards and knights. He made sure that they learned to handle sword, bow and arrow properly albeit in a rough way. Never a day went by without him forgetting the little girl who was responsible for that he ever considered to become Sanc`s training captain. The brat who he took as an example to the soldiers of how weak they were, was also his weak point. His trainees knew that. Everytime one of them dared to tease him about the blue-haired bandit Rashid became furious and enjoined the teaser to do the worst jobs.  
  
Guarding the gate was one of those jobs and maybe someone should have told Abdul and Auda that Rashid had been standing behind them when Auda had mentioned that Rashid wasn`t seeing pink elephants but little blue-haired bandits everywhere. Bursting out laughing they didn`t recognized the third voice which *laughed* with them. Though Rashid was laughing more over the punishment he had in mind for them. "I see another thing, too." He had told them with a treacherous smile. "I see Auda and Abdul guarding the gate for the whole week."  
  
"That`s all your fault, Auda. Next time when you decide to make fun of Rashid make sure that he isn`t near you." Abdul griped. It was the fifth day the two stood guard and nothing had happened so far. It never happened anything at the gate. That was the reason why this kind of job was so unpopular.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know." He heard Auda`s grumbled reply. With a sigh he raised his eyes to the sky. The sun hadn`t even reached the zenith and didn`t seem like it wanted to hurry. It was going to be a long day.  
  
Abdul began to count the clouds moving past him when a shadow fell onto his face. Lowering his head he was face to face with a black horse. A young man sat on it, clad in brown trousers and a brown tunic. A long black cape was situated around his neck serving him as protection against rain. "I`m sir Eric Krushenada." He said with a slightly nervous voice. His blue eyes rested on Abdul.  
  
"Ah, yes, the new knight!" Auda spoke as he recognized the name of the stranger. "The king has informed us you would arrive these days." He took a step forward to get a closer look on him. "You`re nervous, aren`t you?"  
  
The eyes of the knight widened. "I`m...uhm...I..."  
  
Abdul and Auda laughed. "There is no need to be nervous. Rashid isn`t that bad as long as you do what he says." Abdul told him and stepped aside. "Allright. Just ride to the stables and you will be taken care of."  
  
Eric nooded his head, pricked his horse and rode into the court. When he was out of earshot Auda turned to Abdul. "'There is no need to be nervous. Rashid isn`t that bad as long as you do what he says.'" He imitated his friend. "Abdul! Are you blind? This guy has blue hair!"  
  
"Yes I`ve seen this. So what?"  
  
"What? I tell you what! Rashid`s damned bandit has blue hair, too. And what I`m trying to tell you is he is going to definitely dislike him because of the hair color. So don`t tell him about not being nervous. He should be a hell of nervous!"  
  
Understanding slowly what Auda meant he nodded. He hadn`t thought about this. Hopefully this Eric guy knew what he was getting into.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hmm, that`s tickling." She giggled as she felt his lips on her neck.  
  
His lips curved into a smile. "Don`t tell me you don`t like it." His voice hold a seductively tone.  
  
"But my lord. We can`t do this here. Someone might see us." The black-haired woman opened her brown eyes.  
  
"Do you see anybody here?" He traced with his finger the edge of the collar of her violet dress, stopping in the middle of her decollete. "This place is one of the most deserted in this court. Trust me, no one will see us." He pulled the collar a bit and kissed her there.  
  
Convinced that the man was right she closed her eyes and savored his caresses. Untill a new unknown voice attracted attention to itself.  
  
"I beg your pardon for disturbing you..."  
  
Her eyes flew open and in an instant she had pushed her lover away from her. Turning her head to the voice she looked at a blue-haired young man on a black horse. His jaw hung open as if he had just realized what the two were about to do. The woman narrowed her eyes and glared at the man who had convinced her a minute ago that no one would ever come to this place.  
  
In response her lover started to glare, too. At the unknown rider. "Didn`t you see we were busy?" He shouted annoyed at him. Only he could ask such a question. Everyone else would be embarrassed about what they had been caught at and would try to make excuses. Everyone except sir Duo Maxwell. He stood there in a self-confident manner and waited for the stranger to answer him.  
  
In spite of her lover`s self-confidence Lady Victoria of Windworth was embarrassed. She didn`t want to become the new topic of the rumors being afloat at the court. Sir Maxwell was a ladies´ man that was a well-known fact and almost every single woman of this court wanted nothing more than to spend a night with him.   
  
Those women whom this wish had been fullfiled were in equal measure envied and admired. And primarily their names would resound throughout the land if it was found out. Therefore everybody tried to keep their affair dark. Victoria lowered her head, her affair had just been found out.  
  
"I`m really sorry." The man started to apologize. "I`ve never intended to interrupt you two." A blush appeared on his face while he said this. "I`m new here and was searching for the stables. But I`ve got lost and I thought that maybe one of you could tell me where the stables are."  
  
Victoria`s head shot up. He was new here? Perhaps there was hope that her affair wouldn`t be divulged. She turned to him and started to speak. "My lord, of course we will help you."  
  
Sir Maxwell was about to intervene but she shot him a warning glare. "Though I have to ask a favor of you. Please tell no one that you`ve seen us here." Almost nobody at this court would stay mum if they knew something like this. Nevertheless he didn`t seem to know anybody, so there was a change that he would keep this secret.  
  
The blue-haired rider bowed his head. "My lady, your wish is my command."  
  
"Thank you." Lady Victoria smiled and looked at Duo. "Sir Maxwell, would you tell him the way to the stables?"  
  
Duo, still angered at the rider, regarded the man for a moment. He was about his age and smaller than him. In fact he was very small for a man. He didn´t look like he could carry a sword let alone handle one. 'How is such a guy able to become a knight?' The man with the long braid asked himself. That he was a knight he could see on the crest of his buckler which hung at the side of the horse.   
  
"What`s your name?" His voice was harsh, after all he was talking to the person who kept him from becoming lucky with lady Victoria. None-the-less he was intrigued by the crest and needed to know who this guy was. He had seen the crest before somewhere, he just couldn`t remember where.  
  
"Sir Eric Krushenada." He answered in an equal voice. From the niceness he had approached the woman with was nothing left.  
  
Krushenada. Duo knew this name and now he was also remembering the crest. It was the family crest of Krushenada, a well-off family which had been very famous untill...  
  
Sir Maxwell shook his head to clear his thouhgts. He didn`t want to remember that.  
  
Clearing his throat he told Eric the way to the stables and sent him away.  
  
"Well, my lady. Seems like I have to excuse myself, too." Duo took Victoria`s hand and bowed.  
  
"Lord Maxwell, there is no need to excuse yourself. We still have plenty of time to finish what we have started." She smiled at him.  
  
"I know my lady. But you`ve heard the name of the knight. Sir Eric Krushenada is the knight the king has been awaiting and I`m sure in less than a few minutes the trumpet will be sounded to convene the royal suite to welcome him. So I must be off, I`m afarid." Softly he placed a kiss on her hand and turned to leave for the castle.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
For the second time today Hilde breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn`t thought that it would become so diffcult for her. The moment the guard had mentioned she was nervous she was sure her cover had been blown. She didn`t know they assumed she was afraid of Rashid, the training captain. But that was her luck. If they hadn`t thought her nervousness was caused of the upcoming meeting with her new trainer about whom she, to be honest, had never heard before, she wouldn`t have had an idea what she should have told them. Then the whole thing would have been over before it had started at all.  
  
And she couldn`t let this happen. After all she had promised it. She sighed. Ten years it had been since she made this promise and Wufei, her best friend had disappeared. She remembered the day like it had been yesterday. The pilferage of the fruit seller, her break-in into the castle, the meeting with Relena, the promise and the decision to become a knight and last but not least Wufei`s disappearance. When she woke up the next morning she knew something wasn`t right. She had had this weird dream in which Wufei had said goodbye to her and had kissed her on the forehead.  
  
She snorted. Like he would ever do that. Mr. I-would-never-ever-become-weak-like-women-and-show-emotions had always told her that women shouldn`t touch swords and other weapons and had started a heated argument with her when she had told him that Treize would train her to become a knight. It was more than typical. Though that he had disappeared wasn`t.  
  
Hilde had never found out the reason why. Treize had said her that Wufei had an important mission to accomplish and also that she would see him again.  
  
She had been hoping on it up untill now. Looking forward to the day when he would return from wherever he had been she had been sitting nearly every free minute in the last ten years on his favorite tree watching out for the black hair and the usual rant about honour and weak women.  
  
As one can guess neither of them had appeared. Hilde wasn`t happy about that. Most notably because henceforth she would be living in the castle and if Wufei came back now she would never find out about it. Because the moment Hilde had been introducing herself to the guards as Eric Krushenada all chances of meeting her friend again had died. It was inevitable.  
  
Softly she stroked her horse`s neck to take her mind off her worries. The black stallion knew exactly what she was thinking and gave her an encouraging nicker while he troted to the stables. His midnight black fur was shining showing that he was well-tended.  
  
Shadow, so his name, was very intelligent, too. He could understand what humans were talking about and knew who could be trusted and who not. Hilde was aware of this and seldom did something without asking Shadow`s advice. Even if she didn`t speak *horsish* she comprehended what he tried to tell her.   
  
He was the only thing giving her some familiarness at this place where she knew nobody, except for Relena. Unless she had forgotten her.  
  
That would only leave Shadow. He gave her security when she had sat on him in front of the gate. If he hadn`t been here she would have been much more nervous than she already was. It was due to him that she had made it through the gate at all.  
  
And she was happy that she really had made it. Nevertheless after a few minutes of riding through the court she had realized that she hadn`t had the faintest idea of where the stables could be. So she had no choice but to ask the way which, of course, would have been easier if there had been people around her. Because she had ridden in what seemed to be a deserted place.  
  
Not quite deserted she had to revise her thought when she had spotted a couple in the distance. Before she had even been near enough to see them clearly she had opened her mouth and spoke to them. The faster she had wanted to take the interruption bake as she noticed that she just had interrupted what some people called an amorous tête-a-tête.  
  
That wasn`t even all. The man had been what caught her completely off guard. He was drop-dead gorgeous. Tall stature, broad shoulders and thick chestnut brown hair, braided down to his hips had stopped her heartbeat for a second. Untill he had opened his mouth. His annoyed attitude destroyed the picture of the man of her dreams and her mind came back as fast as it had left her when she first saw him.  
  
The rudimentary developed feelings of envy for the black-haired lady by his side turned abruptly into pity and she had commiserated with her that she had to associate with such an idiot.  
  
Unfortunately it seemed like that wouldn`t be the only encounter with him. If she had got his name right he was a sir Maxwell. The significant part of this name was the sir showing he had been given a knighthood and meaning he would train with her and every other knight at this court. 'Maybe he doesn`t belong to this court.'  
  
"My lord?" Her hopeful thought was forgotten as a boy spoke to her. With sparkling grey eyes and messy brown hair with a few strands of hay in it he was without doubt a groom. "If you descend from your horse I can take care of him." A grin adorned his face.  
  
Hilde raised her brows. "Him?"  
  
The boy nodded. "Yes, him. I work with horses almost since I was born. Trust me, my lord. I know if a horse is a male or a female only by seeing it."  
  
"Well, if you can identify a horse`s gender by seeing it, I`m sure my horse will be in good hands." She descended from Shadow and placed the reins into his hand. "By the way, his name is Shadow." He smiled a thank you and directed the horse into the stables.  
  
'Allright. And where do I go from here?' Takeing her horse to the stables as she had been told by the two guards, she now was standing in front of the stables without knowing where she should go to. She was about to go after the groom to ask him as female voice said her name.  
  
"Sir Krushenada?"  
  
Hilde turned around. A mysterious looking woman stood there. With cropped violett hair and dark purple colored eyes she looked like a princess or a noble woman. But dressed in a plain brown dress, the one which the women in the village always wore Hilde guessed she was a maid.  
  
And she was. The woman who was a few years older than herself dropped a curtsy when she nodded her head in answer. "My lord, my name is Lucrezia Noin. I was assigned to be your maid." Her voice emphasized her mysteriousness perfect. "Please follow me, my lord. I`ll take you to the king. He is very eager to meet you." Lucrezia lifted her dress a bit and walked the way to the castle followed by Hilde.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The east wing of the castle was the best place in the morning because only then the sun lit up the lounge in its beautiful yellow light. Relena loved this. She sat here almost every morning together with her lady`s companion Dorothy Catalonia just enjoying the warmth the sun emitted.  
  
"Isn`t it beautiful, my dearest lady Dorothy?" Relena said and closed her eyes letting the sunrays warm her face. Her blond-haired head rested against the back of the velvet coated chair she sat in.  
  
"Why, yes my princess, it is." Duchess Dorothy Catalonia was a woman with many abilities. She knew how the life at the royal court worked and how to use the influence and the power her position gave her. She had long light blond hair which reached down to her knees and ice-blue eyes giving her the capability to analyze every kind of situation. "Even the most beautiful picture can`t compare with the beauty of nature." The seventeen year old duchess considered Relena as one of her best friends and although she had an averseness to people who trusted blindly everybody, the kind-hearted princess was an exception. Were they both very lonely when they had met for the first time they decided to become very good friends.  
  
"That sounds nice. Who has said it?" Relena opened her eyes and watched Dorothy who sat across from her on another chair. The silken light orange dress she wore suited her well.  
  
A sad smile appeared on Dorothy`s face. "My cousin had said it." Her fingers played with the silver ring around her left middle finger.  
  
Relena`s eyes widened. "Oh. Dorothy, I`m so sorry. I didn`t mean to..."  
  
Her companion shook her head. "No. It`s allright. Treize is dead and it`s time that I get over it. Besides, your father is awaiting another Krushenada to arrive, so I have to get used to be remembered on him."  
  
The princess didn`t speak. She knew of the pain her friend felt for the loss of her cousin. The arrival of this knight wouldn`t alleviate it.  
  
As if there was a jinx on it the trumpets started to sound calling the royal suite to the throne room.  
  
"Speaking of the devil." Dorothy said and stood up from her chair. It was clear why the trumpets were sounded. He had arrived.  
  
"Lady Dorothy, you know you shouldn`t tell the demon`s name." Relena, too, stood up and adjusted her long-sleeved blue dress.  
  
"My princess, there is so much one shouldn`t do, but I`m sure saying his name won`t kill me." Linking arms with each other they walked out of the lounge down the hallway to the big throne room.  
  
The throne room was among the ballroom the most magnificent room in the whole castle. A floor made out of marble and yellow painted walls with livesize greek statues in front of them supported the gold decorated furniture and the long red carpet extending from the big double door to the throne.  
  
Stepping into the room, Relena gave her parents a short nod who already sat in their rightful place and headed with Dorothy to the right of the throne to stand on their statutory spots. Opposite to her, on the left side stood her brother Milliardo who smiled at them and took a bow as a symbol of salution. In return he received a curtsy from the princess and the duchess.  
  
Relena looked around. Everybody who needed to be here was here. Next to her brother stood Quinze the highest advisor of the king keeping a straight face while he waited. The prussian blue eyes of sir Heero Yuy, one of the five best knights of Sanc watched him closely. She knew he seldom trusted someone unlike sir Duo Maxwell who stood next to him with his arm laid around a red-haired woman, the countess Mary Sharron. When he caught the princess´ gaze he winked at her. She smiled and winked back letting her look wander along the line the royal suite drew at the carpet. Several dukes and duchesses, counts and countesses formed the left line till the door as well as the right line she and Dorothy stood in.   
  
Next to Dorothy stood the remaining three elite knights sir Trowa Barton, sir Quatre Raberba Winner and sir Wufei Chang.  
  
The double door was opened and a servant came in. Stopping he bowed to the King and the Queen and cleared his throat. "I may present, his lordship, sir Eric Krushenada!" As soon as he had finished the sentence he went away from the carpet and all eyes in the room turned to a blue-haired young man who walked down the red carpet. Behind him Relena could see how Lucrezia Noin came in and joined the people in the line.  
  
Sir Krushenada knelt down in front of the throne and bowed his head. Silence filled the room and everybody waited for the king to say something.  
  
"Sir Eric Krushenada, in the name of the Kingdom of Sanc I welcome you to our castle." Standing up from his throne the king went to the small man. "Stand up, my son."  
  
Obeying the command, he stood up. Relena`s father put both of his hands on the knight`s shoulder. "It`s a pleasure to meet you, my son. It`s been a very long time since I have came across someone of the family of Krushenada."  
  
He nodded his head. "I`m glad to meet you, too, sire." He answered him in a soft voice.  
  
Anton Peacecraft smiled. He liked this guy. "Well then. Let me introduce our five best knights to you." He turned him to the left. "Those two are sir Heero Yuy and sir Duo Maxwell."  
  
Heero ,as always, looked stony-faced at the knight, not giving away his thoughts. His eyes examined the knight of short stature and eventually his head moved to something what looked like to be a nod. Duo was, contrary to expectations, glaring daggers at him. The usually friendly man had his cobalt blue eyes narrowed to slits as if he was standing in front of the enemy.  
  
Not really caring about the look, the king turned Eric around. "And those are sir Trowa Barton, sir Quatre Raberba Winner and sir Wufei Chang." When the last name was mentioned sir Krushenada`s cornflower blue eyes turned to the black-haired knight and widened for a few seconds. Wufei gave him a nod, like answering an unasked question.  
  
'So, they know each other.' Dorothy thought as she watched the scene. 'Interesting. Very Interesting.'  
  
Quatre gave him his normal obliging smile being the nice man he was and mouthed a silent welcome. Trowa, on the other hand, didn`t smile, what was natural, too. He, like Heero, looked at him for a moment and then nodded his head.  
  
Sir Eric turned to the front. Queen Nancy Peacecraft stood up from her chair and spoke. "Sir Eric Krushenada, I, too, welcome you to our home. Please feel free to do whatever you want as long as you stand to the rules."  
  
The young knight smiled and bowed. "Thank you, my Queen."  
  
He looked to prince Milliardo and bowed again. "My prince."  
  
"Welcome, sir Krushenada." He said.  
  
Now it was her turn. Relena hold her breath. Normally, she was used to the formality of welcome and had often done it before, but today was different. It was the knight. Something about him she couldn`t place.  
  
He stepped up to her and knelt down. Taking her hand in his, he placed a soft kiss on it without that his eyes lost contact with hers. "It`s a pleasure to meet you my princess."  
  
His voice was familiar? Relena didn`t know. Did she know this man? Had she seen him before? His eyes. She knew this eyes. She just couldn`t remember. Laying a question into her eyes she saw how a disappointed look flashed through his face.  
  
'Watch him princess. Watch him. He is trying to tell you something.' Dorothy had that most likely yelled at her wouldn`t she be a well-educated lady. 'And he is taking a great risk with it.' She added when she saw the glares sir Yuy and prince Milliardo were boring into Eric`s back.  
  
Whoever this sir Eric was he was definitely having a few secrets.   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I want to go home!" That was the only thing on her mind as Hilde slipped down the trunk of the big oak tree. She had had many imaginations how the meeting with the royal suite would be, though the way as the meeting had been, had been far from them.  
  
Not only that this braided idiot had to be one of the best knights of the kingdom, no, Wufei, her best friend Wufei was one of them, too. What was he doing here?  
  
However, to top it all off Relena had forgotten her. It was... It was... She didn`t know what it was, she just wanted to go home. Back to the hideout in the forest. Back to uncle Treize and aunt Une. Back to her bed in her hut.  
  
"Say sir Maxwell, where are you leading me to?" The high voice of woman drifted to her ear.  
  
"That, my lady, is a secret untill we`ve arrived." A male voice answered.   
  
Hilde looked in the direction the two voices came from and saw as two figures, one with blond hair and the other with a long braid, disappeared into the small wood which surrounded her.   
  
'So, now he has one with blond hair.' She thought and put her hands behind her head. "Black, red, blond, and now is just missing the brunette and he has every hair color through."  
  
"You forgot the blue-haired ones." Someone above her said.  
  
Hilde didn`t need to look up to know who this someone was. "I see you`re still sitting on trees." She answered him.  
  
"And I see you`re still putting your insane ideas into action."  
  
Snorting she rolled her eyes. "Care to tell me what you`re doing here?"  
  
"That`s none of your business."   
  
This answer brought Hilde to the end of her tether. "None of my business? None of my business? Excuse me? What exactly had you been thinking you when left us at a moment`s notice without even saying goodbye to me. Do you know how long I had waited for you to come back? I`ve waited the whole last ten years and now that I see you again the only answer I get to my question is it`s none of my business? Oh yes, thank you very much!" Angered, she folded her arms and stared up at him.  
  
His onyx black eyes locked with her blue ones. "I give you a good advice." He said. His voice as unaffected as always. "Next time when you decide to have one of your outburst of fury as only just, you better do this in the voice of a man, or else your cover will be blown faster than one can do a blink of an eye." Jumping down from the tree Wufei looked around. "You`re lucky that no one has heard that." He told her and walked away.  
  
"Idiot!" Hilde shouted after him, but this time making sure she used her male voice. "He hasn`t changed one bit." He said to herself and looked into the sky.  
  
What on earth should she do now? She wasn`t allowed to leave. Treize had explained it to her. When a knight was in ordinary of the king he had to be there for the rest of his live. There was no turning back.  
  
"Sir Krushenada?"  
  
Hilde turned to the voice. Relena was in front of her. "My princess." She was about to stand up, but the princess shook her head.  
  
"Please, stay down." She said and sat herself into the grass. "I need to ask you something. It may sound a bit weird." She was rubbing her hands together. "My lord, is it possible that we know each other?" Her aquamarine eyes looked at her.  
  
Hilde sighed. "You don`t remember, do you?" She asked her. Maybe she could make Relena remember by using her real voice. Nevertheless would that be too much of a risk. She shook her head. "Guess my maid-of-honour has forgotten her knight."  
  
That sentence was ringing a bell in Relena. Only one person had asked her to be the maid-of-honour and that was... "H-"  
  
Hilde put a finger to her lips. "Don`t say it."  
  
"You are it, aren`t you?"   
  
Smiling, she nodded. "Yes."  
  
Tears appeared in Relena`s eyes. Bending forward she embraced the smilling knight. "I`ve always hoped to see you again. I`ve missed you so much."  
  
"I`ve promised to come back, haven`t I. I`m sorry it took that long." She said and embraced the princess, too.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Maid-of-honour?!"  
  
Sir Heero Yuy and prince Milliardo Peacecraft looked at each other.   
  
"Be quiet, you two. You don`t want them to hear us, do you?" Sir Duo Maxwell hissed at them.  
  
Nodding their heads in agreement they turned back to the princess and sir Eric Krushenada who were embracing each other.  
  
Milliardo and Heero had followed Relena when they had seen her excusing herself from lady Dorothy and asking a guard where the new knight was.  
  
Duo had been just emerging from the wood when he noticed the two noblemen cowering before a bush. Looking at what they were observing he viewed sir Eric and Relena sitting under the tree.  
  
"I`ve promised to come back, haven`t I." Heero clenched his fist as they embraced.  
  
"Who is this guy? And why has my sister never told me about him?" Milliardo whispered, his brotherly protector instincts kicked in.  
  
"So what do you say to our five best knights?" They heard Relena ask him.  
  
"Well, I don`t know them, yet. I`ve only met sir Maxwell through a coincidence when I arrived here, and to tell you the thruth I think he is a womanizer." The man answered her.  
  
"A Wh-Hmpf" Two hands shot out the prevent Duo from shouting. Struggling to get free from Heero`s and Miiliardo`s grip to go over there and give the guy a piece of his mind, the two man had a hard time to calm their long-haired friend down.  
  
"Quiet! If they find out that we are spying on them all hell will break loose. So swallow your hurt pride and be quiet!" Milliardo hissed at him and they loosed their hold on him.  
  
"We have to find out who this man is and what he wants from my sister."  
  
"What if he is the womanizer?" Duo whispered.  
  
"That`s what we have to find out." The prince answered never letting his eyes drift away from the two people under the oak.  
  
"And how?"  
  
'Yes, how?' Heero asked himself and turned his head to the two knights beside him. 'We would have to catch him red-handed.' Heero started to smile inwardly. Yes, he knew how he could do this.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Allright. That`s it for now. Please send me a review. I love to hear from you.  
  
Bye  
  
ChaosJenny 


	3. They are perfect for each other

Hi! Here I am, with a new chapter. I hope you like it and, of course, thank you for the reviews.

* * *

The promise  
  
By ChaosJenny  
  
Chapter Two: They are perfect for each other  
  
King Anton Peacecraft sat in a throne-like chair and rested his ice-blue eyes on his three most trusted men. The long white-blond hair and beard he had let him look like the calm ruler he was known for while his hands laid intertwined in his lap. "My lords, let's commence our conference." He said to the three men who all were seated around a big oak table and looked at their king. "What's on the agenda?"   
  
The advisor Quinze, training captain Rashid and baron Raberba Winner, the treasurer of Sanc congregated once weekly with the king to discuss the issues of the kingdom. A tradition which had been established years ago by the former ruler to have survey of Sanc and proved itself as very helpful to reign over the kingdom.  
  
"My king, the first issue which is needed to be discussed concerns your children, prince Milliardo and princess Relena." Quinze, the oldest of them decided to begin to speak.  
  
The king raised his bushy brows. "In what way?" He asked.   
  
"Well," the advisor took his pince-nez from his nose and looked at him, "your daughter is seventeen and your son already twenty-one, and neither of them is married." He stopped for a moment to see if Anton was going to say something, but when he only looked at him the grey-haired advisor spoke on. "Sire, I know, it's not incumbent upon me to decide when the prince and the princess shall marry, though as your highest advisor it is my duty to point out to you that prince Milliardo and princess Relena will only be able to become the successor to the throne if they are married."   
  
The king nodded his head. "I know, Quinze. I know."  
  
Quinze nodded, too, to support his statement. "Additional you must decide who the future ruler will be. Milliardo or Relena?"  
  
"Relena." A female voice answered the question.  
  
All eyes in the room turned to the red-haired woman who sat next to the king. "Relena is going to be the next ruler." The queen repeated herself.  
  
"My queen? May I ask why?" Quinze questioned her.  
  
"Of course you may." That Nancy Peacecraft was no member of the weekly conference didn't keep her from deciding some of the things her husband and his men discussed about, especially when their children were involved. "Lord Quinze, if I get you right, you are trying to achieve the organization of a suitor ball." She started to reason her decision.  
  
"That was my intention, my lady, yes." He confirmed the queen's assumption.  
  
"Well, for Milliardo, a suitor ball would be in vain because he has already found the woman he wants to marry." The queen said. Quinze wanted to say something but Nancy stopped him. "I know what you want to say. That it is great that he has a fiancée. Yes, it is great. The only problem is when Milliardo marries the woman he is in love with he won't be entitled to the throne."  
  
The advisor frowned. "Are you trying to tell us that the prince is in love with a woman from a lower class?" Indignation resonated in his voice as he thought of the bare imagination of the prince in love with a daughter of a farmer or worse a maid. That was definitely a thing what shouldn't be.  
  
Queen Nancy nodded. "Yes, so it is."  
  
'An unacceptable relationship.' Quinze thought watching how nobody got upset. 'And no one seems to care about it.' For him it was clear, he would do everything in his power to cut off this relationship. "Do you know who the lady is who has captured prince Milliardo's heart?" He wanted to know.  
  
The queen shook her head. "No, I'm afraid, I can't help you with this." She said. That this was a lie didn't matter to her. Of course she did know who the woman was, but she didn't trust Quinze enough to tell it to him. The love life of her son was none of his business.   
  
Anton grasped his long beard as he watched the exchange of words between his wife and his advisor. 'Milliardo is in love with woman who is no noblewoman.' He thought. 'Well, why not.' The year the prince was born Nancy and himself decided that their children wouldn't be promised to somebody as it was common in other kingdoms. They should get the possibility of choosing their own mate, even from another class. "Yes, I think Relena would make a good queen." He said without looking at somebody. "So let's hold a suitor ball for her this weekend." He continued. His eyes wandered to every person at the table. "Is that alright with you?"  
  
A unanimous nod was his answer.   
  
"Good, now let's proceed to the next issue." He said.  
  
Rashid who along with baron Winner had been silence till now cleared his throat. The issue he was going to address was a very personal subject to him. "My king, I think it's time we take the next step pertaining to the bandits." Ten years ago when he started working in the castle he learned the horrible thruth about those bandits. He remembered how he told the king with a smile how he had nearly caught the girl. He also remembered how the smile on his face froze as king Anton had explained to him who those bandits were. People, no beasts who had destroyed his life.   
  
"Are the knights and soldiers ready for it?" Anton asked him.  
  
The brown-haired man nodded. "Yes, sire, they are. All we have to do now is send out a troop to find their hideout and then we can strike."  
  
King Peacecraft closed his eyes. "Alright, send out a troop and inform me if they find the hideout." He replied. "I know what we owe the people of Mibury."

* * *

The training field was crowded. Every soldier, and every knight of the kingdom had gathered on the green lawn for the daily training and waited for their captain.  
  
Everyone. And everyone was staring at the blue-haired young man who had a confused look in his eyes.  
  
'Why are they staring at me?' Hilde thought. The 100 feet long and 100 feet wide, treeless area she stood on offered enough space for the training and was the complete opposite to the other woody places of the court. Still it didn't explain why she got these stares.  
  
Was a new face in Sanc that rare that the other men couldn't help but stare? Hilde shook her head. Certainly not. What was it then? Did they find out she was a woman?  
  
Moved by fear she looked down on her. She hadn't changed anything on her clothes yet. She wore the same trousers and tunic as she wore when she had arrived earlier this day and her chest was bound to hide her breasts. She didn't look like a woman at all.   
  
Maybe Wufei had told them. Her eyes darted to her black-haired friend who stood with folded arms next to the prince and the remaining four elite knights They were the only persons not staring at her. 'Impossible. Wufei didn't tell them something.' She told herself. The onyx eyed man wouldn't advise her to always use the voice of a man and then disclose her secret. It was illogical. And Wufei Chang wasn't illogical.  
  
She was about to turn her head away from them as her eyes met with the ones of Duo Maxwell. He hold her gaze for a moment and then started to grin. An evil grin.  
  
Now, Hilde was sure. Something was going on. The question was what?   
  
The two guards from the gate approached her. "I admire you. I couldn't be as calm as you if I was in your position." One of them said. He had short dark brown hair and brown eyes. The other one looked almost the same. "We haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Abdul and that's Auda." He spoke again and pointed to himself and his friend.  
  
Perplexity showed itself in Hilde's face. "What do mean, couldn't be as calm as me?" She questioned the two.  
  
Auda and Abdul looked at each other. "Don't tell us, you came to Sanc without ever hearing of Rashid Kurama? We thought, you knew him because you had been so nervous at the gate." Auda replied, turning to her.  
  
Hilde hesitated. What should she say. She didn't know who this Rashid was. None-the-less she needed an explanation for her nervousness at the gate. _Whenever you have to lie stick as near to the truth as possible._ The sentence Treize had said to her as she left the hideout to ride to the castle, recurred in her mind. "I don't know much about him." She started telling them. "I've heard he is very demanding and that his training is very hard." She invented.  
  
The guards´ jaws dropped. "Oh my! He really doesn't know it!" Abdul put his hands to his head. "He has blue hair and he doesn't know it. I can't believe it." He muttered a few times before he turned to look at her again. "Okay, listen, alright? I guess you're asking yourself why everybody is staring at you, right?" He didn't wait for Hilde to answer his question. "You see, years ago Rashid worked as a fruit seller in the near village and was robbed-"  
  
"Several times robbed." Auda cut in on him.  
  
"by always the same girl. This girl who he wasn't able to catch was a bandit of this forest-"  
  
"and had blue hair." Auda added ignoring the glare he got from Abdul for interrupting him. "And this peculiar brat, as he prefers to call her, is in his bad books. She has always escaped him and therefore is his prime example for our weakness."  
  
"You shouldn't dare to tease him about her, at least not when he is around. As to the stares, since you are blue-haired and everybody is aware that a furious Rashid is no good Rashid, no one on this field wants to be in your shoes. Because whenever Rashid sees blue he sees red." They both snickered at the last sentence.  
  
Hilde needed a few seconds to register their words. Fruit seller in the village? Robbed? Blue-haired girl? It couldn't be him, could it? It couldn't be her fruit seller. The one she had robbed over months. The one who had nearly caught her. The one who threatened her with a good thrashing, if he ever got her. She hoped not.  
  
"There he comes." She heard Auda say and looked into the direction he nodded towards. Her eyes fell on a familiar tall man, familiar brown eyes and a familiar brown beard. Familiar as in I've-robbed-you-ten-years-ago-familiar.   
  
Only one word was spinning in Hilde's mind.  
  
"Crap."

* * *

Rashid walked to the training field. His face lifted to the sky he smirked as he saw the cloudless blue above him. The perfect weather for the training. Not that raininess wouldn't be a perfect weather, too. Rashid was a man who loved to train his trainees in the worst weather, though today he was glad that Petrus had let the sun shine. When a new trainee arrived sunshine was still the best. Rashid wanted to get an idea of the new person and a high visibility was very helpful to implement that.   
  
The new man was a Krushenada. A name scarcely anybody forgot, particularly Rashid. He knew this name like the back of his hand. Krushenadas were known for their strength. Treize Krushenada, the to be sure most known member of this family had been the best example. He had been one of his closest friends, until IT happened.  
  
Rashid stopped walking. Now was not the time to think about IT. The training took priority.  
  
His eyes viewed the field searching for a new face and eventually landed on short blue hair and cornflower blue eyes.  
  
He froze with shock.   
  
"The brat..." He aspirated barely audible, but seemingly loud enough, because some of the trainees stepped back and a short "Uh oh." was heard as it escaped Abdul's lips.  
  
Rashid didn't pay attention to that. Hundreds of questions were spinning in his mind. She was here, the brat. One of those thieves. Were they trying to prepare an invasion? For a second he saw his past repeating itself just by her presence.   
  
Nevertheless, then something rang a bell in him and told him that this was a man. No brat and no in the forest living robber. He only was a brat-like looking Krushenada.  
  
Rashid shook his head. Perhaps he saw the girl in the knight, because they had talked about the bandits in the conference.  
  
However, the young man looked slightly scared. "Are you Eric Krushenada?" He asked him.  
  
The small man nodded. "Yes."  
  
"Come forward." He commanded in a harsh voice and stepped up to him. When he was in front of him he circled around him eyeing the blue-haired man. "You are very small for a man. I'm going to let you fight against one the other men to see what you are capable of. But first of all you will learn a few rules."  
  
Rashid spread his thumb from a fist. "One: While training everybody on this field is equal. No matter how highborn you are you will be treated as everyone else. You will address me as captain and do what I tell you."  
  
His forefinger joined his thumb. "Two: Training is everyday except Sundays. I await you to be always present. This week you may stay away from it. Though from next week on, you're going to be here, understood?"  
  
"Yes, captain." Eric answered him, the tremulous look was still in his eyes.  
  
'He is for sure no bandit, scared like that.' Rashid thought and gazed at the other trainees. "Now, let's see. Who are you going to fight against." He murmured looking for a training partner. To tell the truth, he was pretending looking for a training partner. He had already chosen who it would be. A few hours ago Wufei had told him that he knew Eric Krushenada and said him who should become his training partner. Usually he didn't listen to proposals of who should train with who. The noteworthiness was that the proposal came from Wufei and he esteemed his discernment.  
  
"Duo Maxwell, you are going to fight against Eric."  
  
Duo nodded. He was more than happy to get the possibility to fight against him. He would show him what's what. Nobody called Duo Maxwell a womanizer and came out of it without a fight.  
  
The knight with the braid went to the two men and placed himself across from Eric. He smirked and his eyes were narrowed, promising that he wouldn't go easy on him.  
  
They both unsheathed their swords. The uneasily look left Eric's blue eyes and determination began to show in them. He was aware that this swordplay wasn't just to show his abilities, but a duel between him and Duo, too.  
  
They crossed their swords. "Ready?" Rashid lifted his arm and stepped away. "Go!" His arm moved down.  
  
The two knights started circling around each other, watching their opponent. Duo heaved his sword and attacked. As fast as possible Eric blocked the attack by lifting his sword horizontal above his face. With an immense strength he pushed the chestnut brown-haired man away from him and charged him in an instant. Duo didn't have time to move out of the way and stroke against the attack. The swords collided and enlaced with each other upright in the air. "Not bad." The knight with the cobalt blue eyes said as he stood face to face with Eric. He pulled himself to him, lifting his sword a bit to be able to move it again. "For a dwarf." He snarled and freed his sword from the entanglement.  
  
Eric raised a brow. "You are not bad either." He stated and took his sword back to his side. "For a womanizer." He added, hoisting his weapon and rushing forward.  
  
"Did you know what you were doing when you decided to let Eric fight against Duo?" Rashid asked Wufei who was next to him and watched them fighting. "They don't look as if they would get along."  
  
Wufei glanced at Rashid for a second. "They are perfect for each other." He assured him. He had more than one reason to make Rashid pair them up. "You will see."  
  
The training captain shrugged. "If you think so." He concentrated again on the swordplay. Eric and Duo didn't treat each other with care. Both men were breathing hard.  
  
Eric heaved his sword for new blow. Duo followed him ready to block him with a strike. "You should look for another work, than being knight. Your smallness will kill you if we attack the bandits." He told him.  
  
"WHAT?!" Abruptly Eric took his sword down and gave automatically Duo's sword a free way to his head.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" He shouted as he tried to stop his weapon from splitting the blue-haired knight's head in half. Unable to avert it, he shot out his foot behind Eric's feet, tripped him up and caused him to fall on his back and lose hold of his sword. With an amazing speed, Duo gripped the sword with his free hand and put it with the cutting edge on the grass next to the other man just before his own sword hit against it and halted not even an inch above Eric's throat.  
  
For a minute, no one on the field spoke nor moved. Everyone was only staring at the two panting swordsmen. One with two swords in his hands and a wide-eyed one with the blade near his throat.  
  
Duo opened his mouth and took a deep breath. "ARE YOU CRAZY?" He shouted at him. "WHAT KIND OF JOKE WAS THAT? GOD FORGIVE ME, BUT DAMN IT! I COULD HAVE KILLED YOU!" He was trembling with rage. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING TO LET YOUR GUARD DOWN IN THAT MOMENT!"   
  
"Duo." Rashid interrupted him as he was about to yell something more at Eric. "Remove the swords." He motioned to the weapons which still hold Eric to the ground. The braided man did what he had been told, sheathed his and laid the other one next to the blue-haired man. Eric sat up and sighed. "And help him up." The captain demanded. Wordlessly Duo put his hand forth. The knight with the cornflower blue eyes didn't respond to that. Apparently he didn't want help from him. "Eric, let him help you up." The former fruit seller required.  
  
Eric nodded. He gave Duo his hand and was pulled up by him.  
  
Rashid walked to them. "Okay." He said. "I have to admit, I'm impressed. Eric, you're better than I had thought. You only have one weak point. You let yourself get too much distracted." He turned to Duo. "From now on I want you to always fight together. Even if you have almost killed him, Duo. Your fast reaction has showed that you two are indeed perfect for each other." From the corner of his eye he could see how Wufei nodded. "Ah yes, another thing, too," he told them as he watched how they glared at each other. "That you will fight together means that I want to see you both become friends."  
  
With that he turned away from them and spoke to the other trainees. "And now I want everybody on this field see running until even the last person is sweating." A collective groan was his response and not few were cursing the fact that Heero Yuy was also a trainee, because he seldom started sweating.

* * *

"Hear ye! Hear ye! His majesty, king Anton Peacecraft, ruler of Sanc invites herewith everybody to the suitor ball of his daughter princess Relena Peacecraft. The ball will take place in two days and begin after sundown. Especially invited are all single noblemen of Sanc." The announcer finished his speech and stepped from the platform in the middle of the market of the court.  
  
"Now they all know it." A young woman sighed.  
  
Another woman smiled. "That's the intention of an announcement, my princess." Dorothy Catalonia replied, eyeing the fine fabrics at a stand for drapery.  
  
"I know." The princess said with a velvet pink cloth in hand. "But I don't want to choose a husband, yet." Her long fingers ran over the soft material.  
  
Dorothy touched a lucent mauve colored scarf. "Isn't there at least anybody at this court you are interested in?" She asked her. "What is with the new knight, sir Eric. He seemed to be very interested in you." She wrapped the scarf around her neck.  
  
Relena put the cloth back on the stand. A smile played across her lips. "I have met sir Eric before. A few days before you had arrived here he had been standing suddenly in my bed-chamber."  
  
The duchess who stood in front of a mirror to look at the scarf turned to her. "In your bed-chamber?"  
  
The blond-haired princess nodded. "Yes. I felt very lonely at that time and I asked him to be my friend. Though then he had to go away. Nevertheless he promised me to come back. And as you can see he kept his word."  
  
Dorothy watched her. "That's very romantic, don't you think? Like a fairytale." She unwrapped the scarf. "And I can see that you like him."  
  
Relena shook her head, a cape with feathers at the edge caught her eye. "But I don't love him." She answered. 'And _he_ is a woman.'   
  
"Good. Who then? Sir Heero maybe?" Lady Catalonia took the cape and draped it around her princess´ shoulders. "Perfect, Relena. It suits you like a princess." She exclaimed happily and pushed her gently to the mirror.  
  
She viewed her reflection. "Heero?"  
  
"Yes. I'm sure he will like it." She said and smiled.  
  
A blush spread her face. "I don't know what you are talking about." She avoided her companion's gaze in the mirror.  
  
"Don't try to hide it. You love him, that's obvious." She placed her hands on Relena's arm. "And he loves you, too."  
  
The princess glanced at her. How she wished that this would be true. "Heero sees in me nothing more than the princess he has to protect." Her aquamarine eyes looked hurt.  
  
"Relena." Lady Dorothy took her hands in hers. "Trust me. Sir Heero loves you." Everyone who would look at the way the princess and the elite knight acted with each other could see that they were in love. Only the two didn't recognize this. Maybe she could help with this.

* * *

Speechless, sir Duo Maxwell stood in front of sir Heero Yuy and stared at him. "You've got to be kidding." He commented disbelieving on what his best friend had just told him.  
  
Heero shook his head. "No, I'm deadly serious and the suitor ball is the perfect option to do that." He answered, looking straight at Duo.  
  
"Heero, that is ridiculous." He replied and started pacing over the now empty training field. When the short-haired knight had said to him that he had a mission for him, he didn't thought he would tell him that.  
  
"It's not." Heero said calmly. "You said it yourself, what if he is the womanizer."  
  
The pacing man groaned. "Yes, I have said that, but... this is stupid. I mean, why should I do that?" He questioned him. "Just to find out if he really likes the princess, or if he only wants to play with her?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Duo stopped pacing and put his hands into the air. "Okay." He moaned. "But why me?"  
  
Heero stepped behind him and gripped his braid. "That's why." He responded.  
  
The braided man rolled his eyes. "Tell me one good reason which convinces me to do that." He demanded from him.  
  
"You owe me." He told Duo outright.  
  
A dry laugh came out his throat. "If that's what you understand under a dept, I don't want to know what you understand under blackmail."  
  
Heero glared at him. "You gave me your word and I take you by it."  
  
The braided man ground his teeth. "Alright. I give in. I'm true to my word. I'll do it." He surrendered finally. 'I must have lost my mind to do this.'

* * *

What is Heero planning? Next chapter you will find out. Duo won't definitely take to it, but you will, I'm sure.   
  
Please review.  
  
Bye  
  
ChaosJenny


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